Radiata Pine

Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) is a New Zealand grown timber, in fact it’s our main forestry timber. It’s a relatively quick growing softwood that readily accepts preservative treatment to make it durable enough to withstand rot. Although it’s not as stable as Accoya wood or Western Red Cedar, its low price makes it New Zealand's most popular timber for weatherboard cladding.

Timber ResourceYou’ll see pine forests and plantations all over New Zealand but especially in the middle of the North Island where most of our pine originates from. Where possible we buy FSC certified timber coming from responsibly managed FSC forests.

DurabilityRadiata pine is naturally perishable, it wouldn’t last 10 years without rotting when used as a cladding timber. However, after preservative treatment to an H3.1 or H3.2 level it will last at least 15 years and with a coat of paint and regular maintenance there’s no reason why it won’t last a lot longer.

CoatingA good quality paint system is essential in preventing excessive timber movement. We recommend as a bare minimum one primer coat of a good quality oil-based primer followed by two top coats of a good quality house paint. Please refer to paint directions for more detailed information.

Dark colours will attract more heat which can exacerbate timber movement and resin bleed, for this reason we do not recommend dark colours on Pine.

Important NotesSome preservative treatments add copper to the timber (such as CCA and ACQ), these should not be used in contact with metal claddings to prevent corrosion. Stainless steel or aluminium fixings, flashings and soakers should also be used instead of galvanised steel with CCA or ACQ treated timber for the same reason.

More InformationMore information about Pine is available on Timspec’s Pine page at www.timspec.co.nz.